Trouble in Store

Margaret Rutherford and Norman Wisdom share top billing here but the former - "Miss Bacon", a rather classy shoplifter, features infrequently. This is really just a showcase for Wisdom. He works in a department store that gets a new boss in "Augustus Freeman" (Jerry Desmonde) with whom he gets off to quite an entertaining, if ropey, start. Hired, then fired, then rehired - we now enjoy a series of set-piece comedy scenarios as poor old "Norman" lurches from fireplace to the fire. Purely by accident, he finds himself embroiled in a cunning plot to relieve the store of it's takings on sale day - but can he and his pal "Peggy" (Moira Lister) thwart the scheme? There are quite a few scenes towards the end that show just how manic department store sales could be, and of just how easily the shrewd could capitalise on the ensuing chaos ("Miss Bacon" certainly knows how). Fans of Wisdom will find this an enjoyable enough family comedy caper that presents humour that is maybe just a bit too predictable, but fun nonetheless.